Heavenly Husband. Carolyn Greene

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СКАЧАТЬ closed his eyes. “No, it feels great.”

      She jerked her hands away as if she’d been burned. It was enough that she was taking care of him these next couple of weeks. She certainly didn’t want him to get the impression he could expect anything more than room and board.

      Kim helped him to his feet. “What happened?”

      He lowered his head and gave her a sheepish grin. “I tried to take a shortcut through the wall.”

      She felt her eyebrows draw together. “You can’t go through walls.”

      “You’re right,” he agreed. “Not anymore, I can’t.”

      “Huh?”

      Jerry rubbed his head. “Human bodies can’t transmogrify.”

      Again, Kim led the way to the hall, but this time she watched her charge to make sure he followed her. “I think you’d better lay off the cartoons for a while,” she advised as he made his way to the den and lowered himself onto the sofa.

      With his hands, Jerry moved his leg up onto the cushions and sniffed the air appreciatively. “Smells great,” he said of the food on the coffee table.

      “Thanks. I hope you like it.” And she did. Despite the angry way in which they’d parted and the constant annoyances he caused her since he was released from the hospital, it was fun watching him get so excited over small things. Before the accident, it would have taken a drastic improvement in the stock market or the opportunity to travel abroad and do some skiing to elicit anything more than a benign, controlled smile from him.

      Jerry dug into the breakfast she’d prepared for him, and Kim watched with delight as his expression changed from hopeful anticipation to pure ecstasy. It had taken some practice, and she was glad to see he’d finally mastered the use of a fork. His attitude changed after he sampled the coffee.

      “No offense,” he said, “but this is disgusting.”

      Kim put down her fork. “You always loved black coffee—said you couldn’t make it through the day without at least three cups.”

      Jerry grew quiet. “I told you before...I’m a different man now.” He looked at her with such silent intensity it seemed as though he was trying to convey some truth, some deep meaning along with the words.

      The silence stretched out. Was he trying to win her back? Did he remember what he’d done to cause their breakup? For that matter, did he even remember their breakup? Was he telling her that the accident had made him a changed man and that he wouldn’t cheat on her again?

      No, she was convinced he remembered nothing from before the car crash. It was as if Gerald had received a personality transplant. Dr. Richmond had told her he may have suffered some brain injury, which would account for some unlikely behavior, but she’d never expected he’d be like a totally different person. Why, he even insisted on a different name for the new personality he’d become.

      She could drive herself crazy if she tried to understand it. Perhaps it would be best to gradually reintroduce him to familiar things that might help him recall his past. In the meantime, she’d let him stay here until his body and mind healed enough for him to move back to his condominium without further injuring himself or burning the place down. And if she enjoyed the company of the sweet, thoughtful man who complimented her and made her laugh, what would be the harm in that? Before long, he would regain his memory and resume his relationship with that woman he’d taken to the motel.

      Her teeth clenched at the memory, but she pushed aside the hurt feelings that arose whenever she thought of that fateful day. “Here,” she said, handing him her coffee mug. “Try mine. Maybe you’ll like it better.”

      He sipped it, and she watched as he touched his lips to the rim of the mug and drank the sweetened beverage. After he sampled it, his handsome mouth turned downward at both corners. He handed it back to her. “No thanks.”

      She got up and went to the kitchen for a glass of orange juice. When she came back, he was staring at her once again in that odd, penetrating way of his.

      She set the juice down in front of him, but he ignored it. “I’m sorry you’re having to miss work on account of me.”

      At first she thought he was joking. The old Gerald would have expected as much as his due for merely existing. But when she saw how sincere he was, she gave a little shrug. “It’s okay. I don’t mind.” .

      “Did Gerald...do I have any relatives? Maybe someone else I could stay with?”

      She’d answered so many questions about mundane, everyday things that she was surprised it had taken so long for him to get around to asking about his past. Perhaps what she told him would help jar his memory. And although anything she said to him at this point would be new information, she didn’t want to shock or hurt him.

      “Your parents are gone.” At his questioning glance, she added, “Your father left when you were a baby, and your mother passed away when you were a teenager. Your only relative is your Aunt Rowena who lives in a nursing home.” She didn’t bother to mention that he would have had a wife if only he hadn’t been such a jerk.

      He twisted on the sofa, moving his leg to the cleared portion of the coffee table so he could face her. “What about you?”

      “What about me?” Forgetting about the wobbly chair leg, she scooted back into the cushions, causing the furniture to resettle with a thunk.

      Jerry moved forward as if to catch her in case she fell.

      “I’m okay,” she told him. “It’s done this before.”

      “Why don’t you sit over here?” Jerry said, patting the sofa cushion beside him. “I’d feel terrible if you got hurt.”

      Kim had to do a double take. It was hard to believe this was the same man who’d made a grid of dates and took bets from their co-workers on when the chair would finally collapse under her. When she saw that he wasn’t joking, she took him up on his offer.

      “This place could use a little work,” he said once she’d settled beside him. “I noticed a loose step on the front porch, and last night when you went upstairs to your room, the banister swayed under your hand. If you’ll show me where your tools are, I’ll try to fix some of the stuff around here.”

      He was right. There were quite a few things that needed fixing in this old farmhouse. But Gerald had never before offered to do any of the handiwork, partly because he considered it beneath him to do “common labor” and partly because he hated the big white farmhouse she’d bought outside the city. He kept insisting that they would buy a newer, bigger condominium to settle into once they were married. Gerald had considered it wasted effort to fix up a house he wouldn’t ultimately live in. Although she’d agreed to their engagement, they’d never finished working out where they would live.

      And now he was offering to roll up his sleeves and be her live-in handyman despite the encumbrance of a cast on his leg.

      “There’s no need,” she said. Eventually, she would get around to doing the chores herself, or she would hire someone to do the work after she was finished with the big project she was working on at the office. “I’ll take care of it before long.”

      But СКАЧАТЬ